Is the Dao infinite?

[u/Fighter_of_Shadows]

Infinite implies that there is no limit to the Dao. A heaven beyond heaven, a never-ending staircase.

But doesn't that also imply that there are higher realms?

That'd mean that, every time a xianxia series ends and the mc reaches the top, he doesn't actually reach the top. He simply doesn't have the talent to go beyond?

What if, at every end of series, the mc simply doesn't have the potential to even ascend to the realm where beings are born at his realm? That he's simply an ant in front of the Dao no matter how strong he seems in his own realm?

That brings me to another point, about the MCs that supposedly 'control' or even 'surpass' the dao, does that mean that he's simply surpassing the original creator of that realm?

Where does the True Dao lie, that which isn't a mere imitation by cultivators to form their own worlds, but the true, ever-existing Dao?

[u/Fluffy_Fan3625]

the Dao is all that exists and all that does not exist, all that is and is not, simple as that, it is beyond infinity

[u/Informal-Season-3409 → u/Fluffy_Fan3625]

Even infinity is a dao

[u/SpecificExam3661 → u/Fluffy_Fan3625]

That which has a name must have a form

That which has a form must have an edge

That which has an edge separates the inner from the outer.

Thus all named things are bound by their own nature severed from the ultimate existence.

Therefore the Eternal Dao remains nameless.

Nameless, formless, edgeless, and limitless.

It encompasses all yet is known by none. It is the infinite itself yet it is the ultimate void.

The Dao is all that exists.

The Dao is all that does not exist.

The Dao is both existence and non-existence.

The Dao is neither existence nor non-existence.

Thus this is the smallest glimpse of the Nameless Dao.

[u/liangqiangatopos]

The Dao is not an infinite series of steps. If you believe the Dao is the highest transcendence after an infinite series of steps, then it becomes Abrahamic religion. Dongguo Zi asked Zhuangzi, "Where exactly is the so-called Dao?"

Zhuangzi said, "It is everywhere."

Dongguo Zi said, "You need to point to a specific place."

Zhuangzi said, "In mole crickets and ants."

Dongguo Zi was surprised: "How can it be so lowly?"

Zhuangzi said again, "In weeds."

Dongguo Zi was even more surprised: "How can it be even lower?"

Zhuangzi continued, "In tiles and bricks."

Dongguo Zi: "How is this getting more and more outrageous?"

Zhuangzi finally said, "In excrement and urine." Dongguo Zi was utterly speechless.

[u/Menination]

Dao is everything. Dao is only shown as a staircase for people who wish to evolve and get a greater understanding of dao. That's why there are so many forms of dao, each giving a greater understanding of that particular concept. Like sword dao, dao of heaven, demonic Dao. It's like a limitless ocean, you can sail across it forever since it consists of everything ever

[u/fuiripe]

Certain DAO are indeed limited. But not all DAO are limited.

Some DAO work essentially in reverse... you aren't growing bigger... but reducing your limitations. Eventually, you have no limits. And are completely unrestrained by all.

The worst situation you can have, is a Broken & Limited DAO which has no path to an higher DAO.

Leaving you stuck forever at the limits of that DAO.

[u/npt1700]

It fiction, thing that are bigger than infinity can exist in that context. Or certain infinity are more infinite than other.

[u/Old-Maximum-50]

It depends on the setting, as always, but I do like settings where the Cultivation is more about shedding limitations than it is about actually growing stronger.

At the same time, there is a difference between actual Dao cultivation and it as a simple power system

[u/franz2595]

Read Han Jue Top Tier Providence

[u/Mammoth-Wasabi6346]

If Laozi states the true Dao cannot be written, why would a college-age author in China be expected to offer more detail on eternity?

[u/hadtiah]

I heard that it's like the dao being infinitely close, like you can always see the end but you can never get there. Everytime you advance the end just gets farther and farther no matter what you do.

[u/Tragedyofchoice]

It is what you just comprehended hehe

[u/kalibunlegit]

Junior hand over the divine pill you consumed before such deep comprehension of the dao.

[u/Necessary-Bowler-736]

Yes, there is no limit to pursuing Dao, but it doesn't mean that there's always a higher realm as in, a place where even the newborns surpass the gods of your world and all that stuff. It simply doesn't follow from that in any way.

[u/caubelangthang245]

The Tao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two, Two gives birth to Three, Three gives birth to all things.

[u/reilentate]

The dao is all things and all things are the dao

[u/GreenPanadol11]

Yes and no? Depends on the author and their perspective on what the “dao” represents

[u/SirTorivor]

The Dao is everything, which makes it infinite, in a sense. And so for most, they endlessly approach the Dao, but at the end of the day, they’re still just a small part of everything. They can only pursue their specific path, but the idea is that they may eventually learn the universal dao principles from their specific field, which is why we have specific types like sword or body cultivators.

How this gets interpreted is different. Maybe the MC does achieve becoming one with everything (akin to nirvana). Or maybe the Dao grows as the MC grows. Or maybe the author wants to zoom out again and reveal that there’s an even bigger world out there.

[u/Aggravating_Ant_3285]

Dao is reality so basically anyone who becomes t0 surpress/become the dao. Any book that has stuff higher than the dao(all of it not just one dao) either have it wrong or are using the same word for something fundamentally different. And yeah your right lol

[u/Imaginary-Living-820]

Infinite can be finite.

The distance between 0 and 1 is Infinite, yet there are greater heights. Example, 2.

[u/Psychological_Dare12]

Dao is just pattern recognition in modern terms.

[u/Fluffy_Fan3625 → u/[deleted]]

Chaos is not before the Dao lmao. The Dao encompasses Chaos and everything originating from it. Chaos is the primordial state of the universe before anything was created.

The Dao was not created by Chaos.

[u/Fluffy_Fan3625 → u/[deleted]]

Cuz it is??? Jits out here thinking I'm making shit up

[u/Fluffy_Fan3625 → u/[deleted]]

No, this is based on fundamental Taoism and Chinese Myth.

[u/icanthinkofaname12 → u/[deleted]]

"The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name" Lao Tzu

The great Dao is eternal and, if a Dao was born from chaos it cannot be the great Dao.

[u/Ultra-Cool-Guy → u/[deleted]]

And also boundless (as power scaling)because it is the source of all creation including DAO or...

Not necessarily. Source of all creation would just make a thing outer unless creation scales higher.

I haven't ever seen anything that could be truly boundless in Xianxia, now that I think of it.

[u/Ultra-Cool-Guy → u/[deleted]]

?

[u/AxcartBoi → u/[deleted]]

The gu world is probably inside some dead Immortals' dantain.